Everywhere I look in Las Vegas during the IBM Pulse Conference, people are engrossed with their cell phones, iPads, or other mobile devices. While eating dinner, walking down the sidewalk, or waiting in line, more and more of our life is intertwined with the magic and draw of mobility power.

This year, the Pulse conference enables mobility lovers in several new ways:

Check-in on FourSquare three times and receive a special gift from the User Community Networking area in the Pulse Solution Expo.

QR codes

Visit and bookmark Pulse-related information quickly with QR codes used throughout signage and handouts during the conference. I recommend downloading mobile barcode reader software prior to Pulse if your phone doesn't already have an app.

I heard that the folks presenting a Cloud demo at Pulse are running a contest to giveaway an iPad after the Pulse General Session on Tuesday. They would like Pulse attendees to try out the Cloud demo. However, you don't even have to take part in the demo to be eligible. Just bring a business card and drop it in their box near the demo. Here are the deets:

Play a part in the demo "Witness Cloud and Integrated Service Management IN ACTION." Then answer a few simple questions and you could walk away with an iPad!!!

If you are interested in Cloud, you also might add Session #2084 "Integrated Service Management Cloud Simulator Overview" to your agenda. Use the PulseSmartSite to add #2084 to your agenda.

Terms and Conditions

No purchase necessary

Drop your business card off at the Main Tent area if you don't wish to participate in the demo and still be eligible to win

Offer not available to government employees, employees of IBM and its affiliates, and their families, and other ineligible under applicable law.

Offer void where prohibited. IBM reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

Federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the recipient.

By the way, like my new digs? I think I'm gonna like it here, so here's a big ole SHOUT OUT to my good friend Tiffany Winman for her work with Alison Olssen on building my shiny new bloggy home :)

Next week, I'll be attending my first Pulse conference, and I have a full slate of activities planned:

On
Sunday afternoon, I will be participating in our ISM Simulator Workshop
session. The workshop facilitator will be our own ITIL 'rock star',
Ivor MacFarlane, and the audience will be made up of IBM customers and
business partners. The workshop participants are in for a terrific
one-of-a-kind interactive learning session that will confuse, frustrate
and challenge them. Ultimately, they will come away with a better
understanding of how to significantly bring IT services into better
alignment with their business goals and strategies. And they'll also
come to realize that those goals can be much more easily pursued via
enhanced visibility, control, and automation—the overarching themes of
the modular approach IBM takes with service management.

On
Monday and Tuesday from 11am to noon, I will be attending the
Integrated Service Management Simulator Overview breakout session. In
this session, you can get a preview of how the simulator highlights the
challenges and business value of implementing Service Management best
practices, and learn how your organization might benefit from your own
team-building and thought-provoking simulator session.

Finally,
I will be working at the ISM Virtual Simulator ped in the Best
Practices Zone. In this cutting edge video game, you can experience
issues affecting service management and corporate profitability in a
simulated organization. You will be given the opportunity to run your
own business, and will gain a better understanding of challenges facing
different people in a company, the value of processes and tools, and how
various parts of the company positively and negatively affect the
hypothetical company’s performance.

We look
forward to seeing you at our breakout session!...and be sure to stop by
our ped and get your game on! And if you are not one of the lucky ones
attending the workshop, fear not - - we can also conduct a private
Simulator Workshop session for your employees, at your site. If you are
interested in your own session, send an email to tivmktg@us.ibm.com.

This week, we launched the brand new Pulse Conversations Online portal so that you can now follow some of the conversations around Pulse on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Livestream, YouTube, Flickr, FourSquare and more all in one place.

Take a moment today to register your blog feed and social profile information for accounts such as Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook to network with others around Pulse conversations and make yourself known as a thought leader! Simply use #ibmpulse in your tweets and ibmpulse in your blogs for your social content to appear in the Pulse Conversations portal. See the Welcome tab for a list of other keywords you can use.

In getting ready for Pulse 2011 I've been talking with folks from different IBM teams who will be at the conference on February 27 through March 2.

Maria ("Mary") Tafuri, Worldwide Program Director of the IBM Software Accelerated Value Program for IBM Tivoli Software, recently recapped for me what the IBM Software Accelerated Value Program is about and what her team will have going on at Pulse this year.

By way of introduction, Mary has been the Tivoli Accelerated Value Program Director since early 2010. She joined IBM in 1996, and has extensive experience in the areas of customer and product support, strategy planning, and business model initiatives. Mary also has worked as an IBM manager in a number of different countries and with many international clients, experience which serves her well in her current worldwide role.

Can you give me a quick refresher on the IBM Software Accelerated Value Program?

Mary: I'd be glad to! The IBM Software Accelerated Value Program is a technical advisory service that complements and enhances IBM's standard Subscription and Support. The program matches clients with an IBM Accelerated Value team of experts who partner with the client and deliver ongoing services -- on-site assistance, best-practice sharing, skill-building activities, and diagnostic coaching -- that maximize the client's software investment at all points along the life cycle of the software. In fact, the Accelerated Value Program's name comes from the fact that it helps clients accelerate from software purchase to software return-on-investment.

What will the IBM Accelerated Value Program have going on this year at Pulse?

Mary: We're pretty excited about what we have planned this year. First, we'll have an Accelerated Value Program Red Carpet Lounge located near the front of the Solution Expo hall where Accelerated Value clients can relax and check e-mail between sessions, and where IBM customers can learn about the Accelerated Value Program. And before everyone dives into the technical sessions starting on Monday morning, we hope they'll join us in the Accelerated Value Red Carpet Lounge for opening night VIP martinis on Sunday, February 27 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.

Also in the Accelerated Value Red Carpet Lounge every afternoon from Monday, February 28 through Wednesday, March 2, we'll be hosting a series of technical sessions and discussions with Tivoli software experts covering all Tivoli product segments. These sessions will be a great opportunity for IBM customers to meet one-on-one with top Tivoli experts. Also, I will be holding an informal Q&A and discussion session from 4:30 to 5:30 PM on Monday afternoon, but I'll also be available at other times throughout Pulse -- just talk to one of us in the lounge to find a time that works for you.

I encourage attendees to stop by the Accelerated Value Lounge to check the schedule for sessions they're interested in. Also you can keep an eye on our IBMSoftwareValu Twitter feed before and during Pulse for session topics and times. Also, on a completely non-technical note, throughout Pulse we'll also be having random drawings and giving away gift cards to visitors at the lounge, just for the fun of it.

Hmm…what could be better than being at IBM Pulse 2011?Being an IBM customer at Pulse, that’s what!

Want to know why it’s smart to be an IBM customer? Well keep
reading and you’ll discover just a few of the ways IBM is saying THANK YOU to
our immensely valued, extraordinary customers at Pulse 2011.

Pulse VIP Speaker lounge:If you are one of the hundreds of speakers at the event make sure to visit the Speaker Lounge dedicated to our VIPs. After all of the walking you will have done, I
bet you would be interested in plopping down in one of our comfy chairs
dedicated for back and foot massages.All
IBM client speakers are entitled to be pampered by our massage chairs in the
Speaker lounge along with other complimentary amenities. While you’re there, indulge
in some refreshments or just kick back and use your laptop. Trust me, it will
be nice to relax and revitalize from the busy Vegas nightlife and morning sessions
so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.The VIP Speaker Lounge is in the Conference
center, level 3, room 308 and is open from 10am –6pm, Monday – Wednesday.

Client Hospitality Lounge in the Pulse Expo: Two
words: MARTINI BAR! Save your red tickets for another night (hint: red tickets
are redeemable for beer and wine).Sunday night our IBM client references are welcome to hang out in the
Client Hospitality Lounge and sip on a martini or two, so don’t cash in those
precious red tickets and come...uh…”network” in the lounge.

If martinis are not your thing then we have something even cooler
for you on Monday afternoon, come in the lounge and treat yourself to some ice
cream bars and sodas …no excuses people, you will walk off all of the calories
anyway.
The lounge will also be stocked up with refreshments Tuesday so there will
surely be something to get your taste buds excited.

If you are an IBM customer who
isn’t a reference yet don’t fret, come fill out a quick form in the lounge and
you will be all set to partake in the goodies. Not only will you be eligible for
the martinis and ice cream, you will also get a cash voucher to spend in the
IBM logo store, just for answering a few questions.The Client Hospitality Lounge is open during
ALL Pulse Expo hours, so I hope to see you there!

`

IBM Client Connections: Ever wonder how other companies
are using IBM offerings to achieve incredible business results?Why not ask one in person? Take advantage of
the IBM Client Connections program by selecting a solution that interests you
and then picking from a list of our lighthouse clients. An IBMer will arrange a
30 minute session for you and that client during the Pulse Conference and you
can brainstorm, get advice and problem solve, or just hangout and network.

Videos/Case Studies/Press:Get your company’s success story out to
the public on IBM’s dollar.Show others
how your company is innovative or smarter using IBM solutions by signing up to
participate in a video filmed at Pulse, a case study or even by talking to
press or analyst.Videos will be
promoted on YouTube, iTunes, IBM sites, Twitter, and many other outlets giving
you free publicity without any effort on your part, and what can be better than
that? Oh yeah, all of that plus a complimentary cash voucher to be used in the
logo store.

A Tivoli
Case Study writer will be on site to interview you in person, saving you the time
and frustration of having to do it after the event. Case studies are yet another excellent way for
you to get your IBM Tivoli success story to the public, as well as another easy
way for you to get more cash for the IBM logo store!

Don’t have
time to meet for an interview?If you
are a speaker at Pulse you have the option of letting us use your recorded
session to create your case study, and you will still get the cash for the logo
store, it has never been so easy.Once
our writer has drafted your case study you will have the chance to review and
approve before it is published.

With
all of the press and analysts that are attending Pulse there are many
opportunities to speak to someone and if you’re interested we can make sure you
are contacted directly for the opportunity.

Don’t be shy, be proud to be an IBM customer and reap the
benefits of your VIP status!

Want more information on how to participate in any of these
activities? Add a comment below with your question and we’ll hook you up with
some info.

There are a number of helpful tools to make your Pulse experience that much awesomemer (yes, that's a word), and the industry roadmaps are one of them.

Here's how they work. Let's say you're a Communication Service Provider, and you want to see, at-a-glance, just the things at Pulse that are focused on your industry. Click on the link below for your industry and it's all there!

These are PDF files and worth printing out or keeping on your smartphone, tablet device or laptop to help you with your scheduling.

The full list of industry roadmaps are listed below. Please post any questions in the comments section and we look forward to seeing you there.

Next, Bill Cheng, Vice President, Maximo Asset Management Solutions, will moderate a Maximo Innovation Customer Panel featuring several long standing clients from a multitude of industries. The panel is followed by Kristian Steenstrup, Vice President and Gartner Fellow who will discuss how intelligent assets lead to an intelligent EAM strategy, requiring better data acquisition, improved coordination, and timely reaction to intelligence.

The event concludes with the annual IBM Maximo Maintenance Best Practice Awards, recognizing organizations that have delivered exceptional innovation, ROI, return on assets (ROA), user empowerment and best practices through their use of IBM Maximo Asset Management. This is always an exciting part of the kickoff, check here for highlights on last year's winners.

You will walk away with:

An overview of the EAM curriculum at Pulse 2011, plus a chance to hear firsthand about the IBM’s Asset Management strategy and roadmap from key IBM executives

Learn about the customer experience through the Maximo Innovation Customer Panel and the annual Maintenance Best Practice Awards.

Thought leadership from one the industry's most respected research analysts

You are cordially invited to participate in the IBM Service Management Simulator Workshop (Cloud version) at Pulse on Sunday, February 27th from 12-3pm. The workshop is a hands-on simulation game which focuses on the challenges and business value of implementing Service Management best practices in the context of a realistic and exhilarating scenario. During the workshop, you'll use gaming dynamics to mirror the real-world interaction between IT and the business, from both a strategic and operational perspective. By attending the workshop, you will achieve an accelerated and breakthrough understanding of ITSM and ITIL best practices, a reinforcement of key concepts and information you can take back to your company to assess how ITIL best practices can contribute to your organization, and a better understanding of how the effectiveness of IT processes impacts the business.